Hopes and Fears 2026

Select your industry for key data and takeaways

Want the highlights? Pete Brown, PwC Global Workforce Leader, summarises the key findings from this year's Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, featuring insights on an increasingly divided workforce.

Highlights

Consumer markets

of CM workers say they can pay their bills each month and still have money left over—six points below the global average and the lowest of any industry. Only 56% feel confident about their job security, five points below the global average and again the lowest of any industry.

of consumer markets (CM) workers applied new skills to their role in the past year, versus 40% globally—and just 18% rank learning and skill development among the job factors that matter most.

Energy, utilities, and resources

Financial services

Government and public sector

Industrials and services

Health industries

say the skills required for their role are difficult to develop or acquire, five points above the global average.

of energy, utilities, and resources workers see conflict between countries as a moderate or major threat to their job security, versus the global average of 46%—and 55% say geopolitical conflict has had a moderate or major impact on them at work this year, versus the global average of 50%.

Energy, utilities, and resources

Financial services

Government and public sector

Health industries

Industrials and services

Private equity

Technology, media, and telecommunications

Industrials and services

Health industries

Government and public sector

Financial services

feel positive about the long-term impact of AI on jobs like theirs (versus 43% global average)—yet an identical 53% also rate AI taking on more tasks as a threat to their job security (versus 44% global average).

of banking and capital markets (B&CM) sector workers use GenAI daily, eight percentage points above the global average and second only to the technology sector—yet 18% in financial services and 20% in B&CM say their employer limits access to or use of AI tools, the highest of any industry.

of G&PS workers see following processes and rules as valued/rewarded, but only 20% see learning new skills and 8% see using AI effectively as being valued. This indicates that recognition systems aren’t yet signalling that continuous learning and AI capability are organisational priorities.

of government and public sector (G&PS) workers are confident in their job security, the most of all industries (versus 61% globally). Only 15% of G&PS workers are likely to change employer (versus 19% globally), creating a unique opportunity for employers to realise strong returns on deep skills investment through a committed, stable cohort.

of HI workers say feeling fatigued or burned out is one of the biggest limits on their productivity, and the same share (32%) cite a lack of time due to workload demands—both the highest of any industry, and five and six points above the global average, respectively. But AI isn’t easing the load, with 15% saying it has made no significant difference to their work, the highest of any industry.

of health industries (HI) workers say they’re proud of the work they do at least a few times a week—the highest of any industry and six points above the global average.

of I&S workers see economic volatility as a moderate or major threat to their job security (versus 57% globally), 49% conflict between countries (versus 46%), and 44% work moving to lower-cost locations (versus 41%).

of industrials and services (I&S) workers say the increasing use of AI in their jobs makes them feel energised, well clear of consumer markets (67%) and health industries (65%).

feel empowered by the increasing use of AI in their job (versus 70% globally), even as 47% say they experienced more change in the past year than in the year before (versus the global average of 34%).

of private equity workers plan to ask for a pay raise in the next 12 months, and 48% for a promotion—15 and 14 points above the global average, respectively.

of workers in the technology sector feel positive about the long-term impact of AI on jobs like theirs (versus 43% globally)—yet 59% see AI taking on more tasks as a moderate or major threat to their job security (versus 44%).

of technology, media, and telecommunications workers use GenAI daily at work—17 points above the 22% global average and by far the highest of any industry, with 84% having used AI at work in the past year.

Private equity

Technology, media, and telecommunications